Story LLP · Knowledge
The founder’s law library.
Plain-English guides from the attorneys who build Story — fundraising, equity, formation, and working with lawyers.
⌘K
Topics
- Fundraising5
- Equity5
- Entity Formation4
- Employment2
- Legal Strategy3
- Contracting with Software Engineers5
- Litigation3
Format
- Guides25
- Interactive2
- From the blog4
- VideoSoon
FundraisingEquityEntity FormationEmploymentLegal StrategyContracting with Software EngineersLitigation
[
Start here
Founder DIY Guide
The step-by-step path through the legal work a new company actually has to do — free, and in order.
Open the guide](https://story.law/founder-diy-guide)[
Interactive map
What actually happens when your startup gets sued
A map of American civil litigation, drawn to scale. The boxes are sized by what they cost you.
Open the map
](https://story.law/knowledge/litigation)
Fundraising
5 guides
Series A, explained
What it is, when it's time, and why Preferred Stock isn't just more stock.
Guide12 min→
Series A diligence: the 3 docs VCs want
Cap table, IP ownership, revenue proof — what VCs check first.
Guide8 min→
Cap-table detox
Clean ownership math before your Series A.
Guide10 min→
Data rooms: Marie-Kondo your docs before diligence
Organize your data room before diligence to cut delays and legal fees.
Guide9 min→
SAFEs: what they are + how they convert
A founder-friendly explanation of SAFEs and conversion in an equity financing.
Interactive16 min→
Equity
5 guides
Startup equity, explained
Equity instruments explained for smart founders, not lawyers.
Guide15 min→
What's in your cap table?
Authorized vs. issued, reserved vs. granted, ISOs vs. NSOs, exercising, vesting, and convertibles, shown on the real thing.
Guide5 min→
Early exercise & founder-trap equity decisions
Why early exercise, long windows, and acceleration often hurt more than they help.
Guide11 min→
How Story.law builds a cap table from your source documents
Lawyer logic, legal-effectiveness checks, and diligence-ready outputs, built from your documents’ reality.
Guide18 min→
Restricted stock vs. options
Why Aegis defaults to options for employees — the key differences.
Guide9 min→
Entity Formation
4 guides
What a corporation is (and how to form one)
Entity formation guide for Delaware C-corps.
Guide12 min→
S corporations: the tax election your accountant forgot to explain
Understanding S-corp elections for startups.
Guide15 min→
Forming an LLC for a US startup
For angel-to-Series-A startups considering an LLC.
Guide10 min→
The Delaware flip
What a flip actually means for non-US founders raising from US investors.
Guide10 min→
Employment
2 guides
Independent contractor vs. W-2 employee
The risk-first guide for startup founders on worker classification.
Guide13 min→
Class-Action Proof Your California Startup
How to prevent wage-and-hour class actions and PAGA claims before they start.
Guide9 min→
Legal Strategy
3 guides
Legal process matters
Templates vs. documents vs. processes for startup founders.
Guide12 min→
Get value from lawyers without going broke
How B2B startup founders actually work with outside counsel.
Guide12 min→
Securities exemptions: Form D vs. blue sky vs. no action
Your options for exempting investment securities — a US startup guide.
Guide12 min→
Contracting with Software Engineers
5 guides
Contract terms every founder should require from a dev agency
The clause-by-clause breakdown: scope, payment, acceptance, IP, warranty, and what to push for in each.
Guide12 min→
Who owns the code your agency builds?
Paying for code doesn’t make you the owner. Assignment vs. license vs. work made for hire, explained.
Guide13 min→
Writing acceptance criteria for a dev project
How tight your spec needs to be to hold a dev shop to a working result, not just hours spent.
Guide12 min→
Warranty and support terms to require from a dev agency
What a warranty actually buys you, when to negotiate a longer window, and when to pay for a support retainer instead.
Guide11 min→
Subcontractors, NDAs, and non-solicits: vetting a dev agency’s team
You have no contract with the people your agency subcontracts to. Here’s how to close that gap.
Guide12 min→
Litigation
3 guides
What actually happens when your startup gets sued
A map of American civil litigation, drawn to scale. The boxes are sized by what they cost you.
Interactive7 min→
You got a “tracking technology” demand letter
Who is sending the CIPA and pixel demands, why, and what actually drives your exposure.
Guide14 min→
Attorney-client privilege, and why you’d care
Typing your worst moment into a chatbot — and what the 2026 courts said about it.
Guide17 min→